Ireland soccer players again wear black armbands and refuse handshakes with Israel team
Ireland also wore black armbands as players again skipped handshakes and bowed during the anthem amid boycott pressure over Gaza.
- On Sunday, Irish captain Kelleher pointedly avoided shaking hands with Israel captain Dor Peretz before the UEFA Nations League match in Backa Topola, Serbia, while his team bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem.
- Following boycott calls over Gaza, the FAI moved the match to a neutral venue for "operational reasons" in June, prompting the team to vote 14-8 to continue with the fixtures after hours of internal deliberation.
- Dara previously declined to shake hands with captain Manor Solomon in Debrecen, Hungary last week, mirroring a pattern of tension from Ireland's match against Austria where protesters threw tennis balls bearing Palestinian flags.
- An Israeli journalist's claim that Irish players used the slur "monkeys" during a previous match led communications officer Kieran Crowley to rebuff it as "a lie" and end the press conference on Saturday.
- Honoring victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, Israeli players wore black armbands, while reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno remained the sole player to withdraw, citing his personal belief that killing innocent people is wrong.
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84 Articles
Irish players again wore black bracelets and bowed their heads as the Israeli national anthem sounded on Sunday to protest Israel's actions in Gaza before the teams tied 1-1 in their tense second League of Nations match.
Backa Topola., Irish players again wore black bracelets and tilted their heads as Israel's national anthem sounded before the second League of Nations clash between the two sets, which ended up matching 1-1 at the TSC Arena in Serbia.
There is strong political tension between the two countries.
Irish national team players, who drew 1-1 with Israel, wore black armbands in memory of those who lost their lives in the Gaza genocide, as they did in the first match, and bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem. There was no handshake ceremony between the two teams before the match.
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